The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair

When I was a child, my grandparents took me to The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair for the first time, and it made such an impression on me that it has become an annual fall outing of mine. In fact, it might hold my personal record among Toronto events for longest consecutive attendance. Even throughout the years that I lived away from the city, I would always make a special trip in to catch The Royal. So what's so great about The Royal? Well! Allow me to explain...

The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair takes place in the Direct Energy Centre at Exhibition Place and is "the largest combined indoor agricultural fair and international equestrian competition in the world". It began in 1922 and was given its regal title by King George V in 1920, which means (quick math) that this year marks its 91st year. The Royal means many things to many different people. For exhibitors, it is the focal point of their year, where they get the chance to show the fruits (some pun intended) of their labours in livestock breeding and agriculture to judges and bidders. For others, it is a world-class equestrian competition, with events such as show jumping, herding, dressage and hitching happening every day. And for those of us who have no vested interest in the many, many types of competitions/judging happening at The Royal, it's a chance to explore aspects of the province/country that we don't normally get to experience living in the city.

It's difficult to summarize the breadth of activities happening at The Royal but I'll take you through my day to give you an indication of what a typical visit might consist of. We began by wandering through the agricultural exhibits/displays. This is where you'll find gigantic pumpkins, sunflowers that stretch towards the ceiling, colourful bundles of wheat, curiously shaped (and named) gourds and neatly-displayed red ribbon-winning fruits and vegetables. The prize-winning produce is meant for display only but every year I find myself overcome with the urge to eat a first place potato or cob of corn. I suspect most of these are awarded prizes based on aesthetic factors but I always wonder if this makes them taste better...

The agriculture area also showcases achievements in cheese, butter (including the ever-popular butter sculptures), honey, maple syrup, eggs, milk, jams, jellies and pickles. Basically, any edible product whose origins can be traced to a farm. As you wander through there are stickers, posters and pins adorned with the slogan "Farmers Feed Cities" and I have very vivid memories of considering this notion when I was a child at The Royal. It was probably the first time I really stopped to consider where my food came from and the people behind its production. It's very easy to be disconnected from the food we eat and not spend any time considering how it ended up on our plate and The Royal serves as a yearly reminder that there are many hard-working men and women out there making sure we stay fed and full.

 

After meditating on the concept of food production/consumption, it was time for some lighter fare. You know what that means? PETTING ZOO! The Royal has a very large petting zoo, full of goats, sheep, llamas and several other requisite farm animals. The goats, sheep and llamas are the most keen to munch and nibble on food pellets so these are the animals you are most likely to interact with. I'm partial to the llamas, and there were more than usual on display, which was cool. I was especially taken with a llama (pictured above) who looked almost giraffe-like with its spotted face.

The animals at the petting zoo make up a small fraction of the animals present at The Royal. Most of the livestock is there in competition/judging and every year as I pass by stall after stall of sheep, goats, pigs, cows, horses, alpacas, rabbits and guinea pigs I am struck by how I really can't tell the difference between a red ribbon calibre animal and one that gets passed over. I used to think the difference would be more noticeable, like, a missing leg or crooked nose but now I realize that the livestock brought to The Royal represents the cream of the crop and only an especially skilled judge can perceive the kinds of imperfections these animals might possess. Very interesting. Even more interesting are the ridiculous getups they put sheep in after being shorn. Which of the two examples above do you find more creepy: the sheep that looks like he's about to attend a certain kind of racist rally or the ones that look like they're about to burst into an aerobic routine? *shudder*

One of the biggest changes that has taken place at The Royal since I began attending is the fowl situation. The first several years I went to The Royal, one of my favorite parts was seeing the large exhibit of birds in competition. It was certainly the noisiest part of the fair, with roosters, hens, ducks and geese all clucking, quacking and crowing at the same time but it was also one of the most interesting and visually diverse. I especially loved the chickens with mops of feathers on their heads (very punk-rock) and seeing what a healthy and well-bred pigeon looks like (hint: it doesn't look like what you see wandering around the city). Unfortunately, The Royal eliminated the presence of fowl entirely a few years ago as a result of the bird flu scare. In recent years they have re-introduced fowl to the fair but due to ongoing health and noise concerns they are only presents for a select number of days. My visit this year didn't coincide with any of these days so sadly, I missed them. Next year I will make a point to visit when they are around.

There is a tremendous amount of educational information available and on display at The Royal, which makes it an appealing event for schools and parents alike. There are many displays/events aimed at school-aged children throughout The Royal but fortunately they are fun for all ages if you're like me and just enjoy learning new things. This year I learned that strawberries have more to do with straw than I thought and that I was wrong about where meat from the "rump" of a cow was located on its body (I wasn't THAT far off but I was still mistaken). Aside from obvious groups of students there on school trips, there is always a strong presence of older, post-secondary art students at The Royal who are taking advantage of the unique life-drawing opportunities on display. I think it's lovely to see them sketching away with purpose as the rest of us wander by.

The two biggest personal highlights of The Royal were catching the Superdogs and (of course) the food. The Superdogs were once a much smaller part of the fair, in a fairly modest fenced off area. Now they have an arena where hundreds of people can delight in their performances. The show changes slightly year to year but it's always a variation on displays of speed and agility from some very well-trained dogs. It always makes me feel like a kid again as I cheer for "my team" of dogs as they race through obstacle courses. I get really into it. I don't even care how lame that makes me.

I also get really into the food. The Royal has a ridiculous amount of food to choose from, like any fair worth its salt, and for my visit I knew exactly what I wanted. A gigantic baked potato, loaded with sour cream and chives (really green onions, but I wasn't complaining) and a freshly baked Apple Dumpling topped with vanilla ice cream. I chose wisely. I was not disappointed. I will definitely be back next year!